Ward 6 Alderman Questionnaire - Rebekah Gewirtz

  1. What political or community activism accomplishments are you most proud of during your last term in office (or the last two years if you have not previously served)? What specific things do you want to accomplish during the coming term?

    During my campaign in 2005 I talked about bringing people together to improve our community and make it stronger. I have done this in many ways. In particular I have worked to involve more people in the Davis Square Task Force and to support and encourage residents and businesses to work more collaboratively to improve Davis Square. One offshoot of this effort is the Davis Area Resident Business Initiative, which is a non-partisan group working towards the betterment of Davis Square. During my campaign, I also talked about the need for fair and responsible development that's not just good for developers but that's good for neighbors and I have made this a priority since being in office. I have advocated for neighbors at several development projects throughout Ward 6 and I have made sure there was a clear and transparent process around larger citywide development. A good example is at the MaxPak site where I asked that information be made available about money given by the developer to the city and how that money would be spent. I am also proud of work I have done with Paul Bockelman to raise awareness about our schools. Paul and I created and distributed the first ever Ward 6 newsletter on the schools, which was very well received.

    This coming term, as chair of Housing and Community Development, I plan to focus on affordable housing prospectively in anticipation of the Green Line extension. We can't start working on this soon enough and I have already scheduled a meeting for July 23rd to begin the conversation with the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. I would also like to focus even more of my time on environmental initiatives we can advance at the city level. I hope members of PDS will work with me on these initiatives. I have worked hard to raise awareness about the role of local government in combating global warming. Running with the idea of a local environmental activist, I proposed that Somerville participate in a web-cast on green energy with 100 other localities participating. This was the inaugural meeting of the new committee on Energy and the Environment, of which I am a member. In addition, one way I have worked to get more people involved in local government and inform them about what's happening on the local level is through my Ward 6 bi-monthly e-newsletter. This newsletter lets people know what's happening around Somerville and Ward 6, in particular, and in the coming year I would like to expand this tool and give people more avenues to participate through it.

  2. How will you balance business development with the needs of low-income residents as the Green Line comes to Somerville?

    As I mentioned above, I think it is very important that we address affordable housing issues before the Green Line comes to Somerville. As Chair of the Housing and Community Development committee I plan to work on this issue extensively this coming term. I would like to invite CHAPA (Citizen Housing and Planning Association), Somerville Community Corporation, the Affordable Housing Organizing Committee, CAAS, and others to participate in these discussions and work collaboratively with the administration to develop a strong plan that's good for residents but that also takes into consideration the needs of small businesses. Indeed, small businesses working with residents is one of the reasons Davis Square is the bustling place it is today. Davis Square has been recognized by the MBTA as a model Transit Oriented Development site. I do, however, think more should have been done about affordable housing issues during the time the T was coming to Davis and we can learn from this example as we look at the stops along the green line corridor and the spur into Union Square. We also need to make sure that new zoning in Union Square balances the needs of business development and low income residents.

  3. Would you support instant runoff voting (or similar voting reforms) for city elections? Why or why not?

    I support voting reforms that make it possible for more people to effectively participate in electoral politics. I am a strong proponent of Election Day Registration and for public financing of political campaigns. I was the lead organizer for Mass Voters for Fair Elections, working on public financing when I was first running for alderman. Cambridge currently uses a form of IRV called Proportional Representation and that seems to work well. However, Cambridge doesn't have wards ' every councilor runs citywide. In Somerville, we would have to develop a way to make IRV work taking into account ward races and cost of instituting a new system.

  4. Why is the gang ordinance not enforced, and what do you plan to do about it?

    It is my belief that the Gang Ordinance is virtually unenforceable, which is why it hasn't been utilized. There are many factors that go into an arrest based on the Gang Ordinance and it's difficult to use the ordinance when these factors can be difficult to demonstrate. I think gang activity is a problem in Somerville and we need to figure out ways to get kids to leave gangs and participate in more constructive activities. Beefing up the city's summer jobs program is one way to do this. I am a member of the Youth Services Committee of the Board of Aldermen, and earlier this year I participated in a meeting with students from Somerville High as they lobbied for funding to go to summer jobs programs. I strongly support this and voted in favor of additional funding for summer jobs programs. Creating additional youth programs that provide hope for the future, giving kids a chance to participate constructively, is an important way to combat gang activity. One good example of a program in Lynn is the 'Cops and Kids' Program, which is an after school program that is a collaborative effort of the Lynn Police Department, Lynn Public Schools, Community Minority Cultural Center (CMCC), and the Lynn YMCA. It was implemented to prevent substance abuse and violence through education and fostering strong positive relationships between police and young people at-risk. We should consider doing something similar in Somerville.

  5. What specific steps will you take to strengthen the community policing program?

    In the FY 08 city budget, the Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of additional police cruisers. I think we should have police on bicycles throughout the new districts, in addition to having new cruisers. The old system of policing was based on wards but with the new district system it's important that police officers continue to be visible and available outside their cruisers so they are easily accessible to residents. In a dense area like Davis Square where it's difficult to access the square by car as a result of traffic, it is especially important to have police officers on bicycles. For example, double parking is a major problem on Elm Street in Davis Square. If people call the police to report this, it's difficult for cruisers to get to the area because of traffic. If more police officers were on bicycles, they would be able to get there much more easily to address the situation in a timely way. I also think we should consider a Cops and Kids program (mentioned in my response to Question 4) to improve upon the new community policing program.

  6. What specific steps will you take to increase the civic involvement of immigrants?

    Somerville has a large immigrant community, contributing to our diversity and richness. The Welcome Project does a tremendous job helping people integrate into the community and supporting the needs of new immigrants to the city. In city government we need to make sure our services and written materials are multilingual and accessible to all. We need to be sensitive to the needs of new immigrants and through conversations with immigrant groups, find the most effective way to empower people to be more involved in civic life here in Somerville.

  7. What specific steps will you take to promote pay equity in Somerville? (see http://www.mass.gov/women/payequity/payequity.htm#legislation)

    I support Sen. Jehlen's bill creating pay equity. In fact, as Sen. Jehlen's legislative aide when she was a state representative this was an issue we worked on at length. It is important for us to close the wage gap between comparable male and female jobs - and the city level should not be an exception. I think it's worth exploring if comparable legislation should be proposed on the city level.

  8. What will you do about Somerville's budget crunch?

    To address the budget crunch it's important to look at the city's revenues and expenditures. On the expenditures side, we need to be sure money is spent in the most efficient way and during the budget deliberations in June, I proposed several cuts to save the city money. On the revenue side, there has been an over reliance on the regressive property tax. I am a strong supporter of Governor Patrick's Municipal Partnership Act, which would give cities and towns more flexibility to raise revenue and close the unfair Telecommunications tax loophole. Closing this loophole would bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to Somerville each year. I also support closing corporate tax loopholes, more generally, which would bring needed revenue to the state and allow the state to increase local aid to cities and towns.

  9. How will you create a town-gown relationship with Tufts comparable to that of Cambridge and Boston with their universities?

    This term I coordinated Tufts University, the MBTA, the City, and the Arts Council to put out a Call to Artists that will go out in the next month to replace the old, dated art panels on the platform at the T station in Davis Square with Somerville/Tufts art. This project has increased the civic engagement of the University in an important project that will enliven the Davis Square T Station, which hosts 10,000 commuters per day. Tufts also needs to continue giving financially to the city. Somerville is not in quite as advantageous a position as Cambridge since Tufts is not as wealthy as Harvard, for example, but it is important that Tufts actively participate both civically and financially in the community. My experiences with the University so far have been quite positive.

  10. What are the special needs of your Ward?

    Ward 6 is a lively district consisting of both residential neighborhoods, a central business district -Davis Square, Ball Square and Powderhouse Square. Because of this dynamic and the proximity of the entire ward to the T station, it is a highly unaffordable place to live, which is why I made affordable housing one of my top priorities. There are also traffic and parking problems in the ward that I plan to continue to work on this coming year. Working with a traffic consultant, we are forming a short term group that will present concrete recommendations to area neighborhood groups to address these issues. Of course there are many pressing issues facing the residents of Ward 6 and I interact with my constituents on a daily basis to address them.

  11. What else should we know about your candidacy?

    I have been honored to be the Ward 6 Alderman for the past year and a half. I plan to work hard on my re-election campaign, knocking on doors and getting the message out about what I've done so far as Ward 6 Alderman and what we've been able to achieve together as a community. I share PDS' commitment to transparent, open and accountable local government and I have stood up for these values in my first term. I would very much like to be re-endorsed by PDS in the upcoming election.